


The Way He Speaks

by bang-the-smoke (708_things)



Series: Bandom Oneshots [13]
Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Magical Brendon, Patrick's a Siren, selective mute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21661588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/708_things/pseuds/bang-the-smoke
Summary: Brendon attends an academy for basically everything non-human, and finds himself interested in Patrick, who is secretly a Siren.
Relationships: Patrick Stump/Brendon Urie
Series: Bandom Oneshots [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556635
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	The Way He Speaks

**Author's Note:**

> yes so sirens are kinda, not the same as in mythology here bc im big dumb  
> cross-posted on wattpad under bang-the-smoke

Even after a year of being at the academy, it never fails to surprise Brendon. He's found friends in the most unconventional of places, with their own quirks to boot. Some students here are like him, having magical abilities, and others are more supernatural, as one might call it. Some have extra appendages, have other oddities like wings, or fur, or the need to drink blood. Brendon likes it here. He looks around at his friends, snorting when he notices Ryan's practically poking his breakfast like it's a science experiment. "Don't have an appetite today?" he jokes.

"No," Ryan answers, "Not yet at least."

This is normal for Ryan. Even for a wizard, he's pretty strange. Spencer looks slightly concerned, while Jon is busy looking around the cafeteria. He has a look on awe as he observes everyone. It's a side effect of being new; everything interested him.

Jon apparently finds something interesting. "Hey, what's that kid's deal?" he asks, gesturing to an older student who's in the line.

Spencer looks up and examines him, before shrugging. "I think only the teachers know," he says. "Stump's like the only mystery kid. Everyone else is a show off."

"I am not a show off," Brendon protests, knowing the dig was definitely indirectly about him. Spencer laughs at him.

Jon looks at Stump with a look of suspiciousness. "What, he doesn't share anything about himself?"

"He doesn't talk," Ryan responds, still picking at his plate. "So, everyone just assumes the teacher's know his deal and that's that."

Jon nods, and apparently that's the end of his interest. He turns back in his seat to face them, and continues eating breakfast. Brendon, however, still wonders about it.

Of course he's heard about Stump. Everyone knew everybody, but he was the only one who remotely stayed away from that. Though some had tried to get to know him, his muteness had been a turn off. Brendon has always been interested to know why he's like that, but he's never actively tried to figure it out.

He listens to his friends conversing, but his eyes are focused on Stump. Stump just calmly eats, not knowing he's being watched. He seems normal, like he's just a human, but that can't be true. He could only come to this academy if there were some sort of other side to him.

Brendon watches him get up and throw away his trash. For some reason, he's desperately tempted to follow, to finally figure out the mystery that's been in his head since he first heard of the guy. "I've gotta piss, I'll be back," Brendon says ever so charmingly, excusing himself from his friends.

He carefully stands up, and calmly walks in the same direction Stump had went. He's trying to make sure it doesn't look like he's following him. Stump seems to be walking back to the boy's dorms.

Brendon doesn't know what he's going to do. Confront him? Demand he share all about his life? He realizes in that moment it wasn't a good idea. He turns on his heel, prepared to leave, when suddenly he hears humming.

And it's the most beautiful thing he's ever heard. He gasps quietly, turning back to face Stump. It's definitely him humming, and it's so melodious and lovely sounding. How does he sound so beautiful?

He finds himself sighing blissfully. Once he takes a moment to think, he realizes what this means. "Patrick Stump, you're a Siren?" he asks, but it's more of a statement. He knows now.

Patrick turns to face him, a panicked look on his face. He looks like he was going to literally cry. He shakes his head violently, "No, no, no." It's not denial of the statement, but rather a denial of the situation. He doesn't want to face anything like this, but it left him with no choice. He looks at Brendon and bites his lip, anxious.

"Keep it a secret between us," Patrick says, and the tone of his voice has changed to silky smooth. It's alluring, and draws him in, practically hypnotizes him. He nods, against his better judgement, because really he wanted to share this, wanted to share that he was a Siren.

"I'll do anything for you," Brendon breathes, caught under his spell, which required no magic at all. No magic, and yet he has Brendon so controlled. Patrick gets a disgusted look on his face, before he sighs and looks down.

"Go back to the cafeteria," Patrick demands, and Brendon's feet work on their own accord. They turn him around and suddenly moment's later he's back in the cafeteria. He sits back down with his friends, still shocked.

"Did you see a ghost in the bathroom?" Spencer snickers, making fun of how spooked he looked. 

"Do ghosts attend this academy?" Jon suddenly pipes up, and Ryan nods to answer his question. "That's cool."

Brendon can't stop thinking about what he found out. Patrick's a Siren who doesn't fucking talk willingly. He's got power just with his voice, and yet he doesn't like to use it.

He's got more questions than answers. Brendon purses his lips and decides he is going to confront Patrick again, just out of sheer curiosity.

\---

That night, Brendon decides he's just going to go to Patrick's room. From what he remembers, Patrick does not have a roommate, because his old one graduated from the academy. It was probably better that he didn't have one, considering the communication barrier that would be present.

Brendon looks over to Ryan, who's reading a book while laying down in bed. "Hey, I'm gonna be back soon," he says. "Don't wait up."

Ryan smiles, momentarily glancing up from his book. "Alright. Have fun and stay safe."

Brendon laughs a little at his regular concern. He leaves their room, gently shutting the door behind him. He walks through the hall, glancing at the paper name plates by the doors. The teachers made them do this in order to encourage friendly interactions, as knowing each other's names was apparently the first step to having a good bond. It was only now that Brendon realizes that it was useful.

About halfway through the hall, he finds his room. The paper reads his name, and underneath is a scratched out name, which was his roommate's. Brendon knocks on the door, bracing himself for Patrick's inevitable refusal to hang out.

The door opens after a moment, revealing Patrick who carefully looks at him before trying to close the door on him. Brendon caught it with his foot, forcing it to stay open. "I just want to talk," he says.

Patrick purses his lips and raises an eyebrow, not convinced. "I won't tell anyone," Brendon adds. "I just... I don't know, I want to get to know you."

There's wariness in his eyes, but Patrick moves the door back open and moves out of the way. Brendon walks into the room, looking around and observing the posters on the walls. Meanwhile, Patrick shuts the door behind him. For some reason, Brendon expects him to speak again, but he doesn't.

He pulls out paper and a pencil from his desk, and Brendon can already see where that's going. "Did you ever speak to your roommate?" he asks curiously, looking at the bed on the other side of the room. He watches as Patrick writes his answer.

_No. He tried to get me to, but I didn't want to. Eventually, I told him that I was physically uncapable to cause I was born without vocal cords or some shit. He believed it._

That just raises another question. "Were you guys even friends?"

_Of course. Pete was too determined, so eventually, yeah... Enough about me. Why don't you tell me about yourself?_

Brendon doesn't need any more prodding. He immediately begins talking about himself, his friends, and everything. It's not even important stuff that he tells Patrick, but even the mundane can still be interesting. As he's rambling away, Patrick gets a small smile on his face.

After finishing an anecdote, Brendon notices. "What's that smile for?" he asks.

_I'd heard you were like an excited little puppy. Guess that's true._

Brendon flushes, scratching his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. I've heard it's kind of annoying."

Patrick shakes his head, and Brendon watches as he writes the next words.

_No, no. It's cute, endearing even._

Brendon blushes again. Patrick listens to him talk for a little bit longer, writing on the paper occasionally. Somehow, Brendon loses track of time. Patrick was great to talk to, because he's so good at listening.

As he walks out of Patrick's room, he decides that the two are now friends. After that whole conversation, he's even sure that he wouldn't mind that. He knows deep down that Patrick must be lonely, considering most don't even try to interact with him anymore.

He walks back to his room and quickly falls asleep.

\---

Over the course of a few weeks, Brendon has often found himself in Patrick's room. It happened practically every other night, and even Ryan was confused about what was going on. This cycle happens peacefully even tonight.

Brendon practically runs through the hall, knocking at his door insistently. Patrick opens the door, looking confused and worried. "Can I sleep over tonight?" he asks.

Patrick nods, still confused, as he allows his friend into his room. He grabs the paper off his desk like normal and writes: _What's going on?_

"Ryan didn't have the common decency to warn me he was having a hookup tonight," Brendon informs him, scowling. See, he's not really mad that it's happening, but the bro code states that you tell your bro when shit like this happens. He would've liked to know beforehand, 'cause what he walked in on wasn't pretty.

Patrick snickers, rolling his eyes. _Teenage hormones, am I right? Anyway, you're always welcome here. You can take the extra bed._

Brendon flashes a grateful smile at him. He gets situated on the other bed, which is across the room from Patrick's. "You got an extra blanket?"

Patrick just throws him one. "Thanks!" he exclaims, and gets comfortable.

They don't really talk much. He has a feeling Patrick's really tired, so he just lets it be. Patrick turns the light off after a while, and seemingly goes to sleep. Brendon tries to, but can't.

He's normally not picky when it comes to sleeping. Hell, he's slept on the floor in other people's rooms multiple times. It's not that the bed is really uncomfortable, either. It just doesn't feel right. He stands up, grabs his blanket, and carefully walks over to Patrick's bed. Before just joining him, he whispers, "Can I sleep with you, dude?"

He sees Patrick nod and scoot over slightly, so apparently he's not as asleep as he thought. Brendon lies down on the bed, pulling his cover over him. He feels exceptionally warm, especially because their sides are touching. It's closer than he's ever been to him.

"Goodnight," Brendon says, and there's obviously no direct answer with words, written or otherwise. Patrick pats his shoulder slightly, however, and Brendon smiles to himself. People would probably think he would be more distant from others, due to the fact he doesn't talk. But Brendon knows better than anyone that he's actually an affectionate, nice guy.

In the morning, Brendon wakes up first. He feels content just watching Patrick sleep, which is kind of weird, but he's always been weird, so. Patrick wakes up a little bit after that and yawns. He does his normal morning routine with Brendon alongside him.

"Do you want me to walk to the cafeteria separately?" Brendon asks, because he knows maybe Patrick doesn't want people to know they're friends.

Patrick grabs a sticky note and writes: _Whichever you prefer. I'm not ashamed to be known as your friend._

Brendon beams. "Alright, well, my friends will probably notice and be really curious, so I'll go separately." Patrick nods to that. He leaves the room a few minutes later, but Brendon lingers.

He looks at the sticky note, and rereading it makes him feel happy. He supposes he's just really happy that they are friends. He takes the sticky note and puts it in the pocket of his jeans.

Once he sits down at the table with his friends, he immediately gets interrogated. "Who's room did you go to last night?" Ryan asks.

Brendon rolls his eyes. "You have quite the nerve to ask me that, considering it's your fault."

"He was worried," Jon responds. "He kept asking us if we had any idea about your whereabouts."

"While I'm flattered, you didn't have to worry," Brendon answers, turning to look at Ryan. "I was with a friend."

"Which friend?" Ryan questions, and Spencer groans because he just can't let it go.

Brendon ponders if he should tell them. At first, he decides against it, because it's not really his business. Then, he remembers the sticky note and remembers that Patrick doesn't mind. "Patrick," he answers. There's not an immediate reaction, so he adds, "Stump."

He should have realized they would be really shocked. All three of them look flabbergasted, and Jon even kind of choked while drinking his orange juice. "What?" Ryan questions.

"Yeah, we're friends," Brendon says, and then gets way too excited. "He's actually pretty cool once you get to know him, and nice."

Ryan and Spencer share a knowing look, which annoys him. Those two have known each for a while, so they just look at each other sometimes and understand what the other means. Brendon wishes he had that with someone, maybe even Patrick. Meanwhile, Jon is just trying to get to the bottom of this. "He speaks to you?"

The answer was complicated, because technically he did before. But that didn't count, and they weren't going to know about that. Brendon already knows that they would be more curious, and he also doesn't want to invade Patrick's privacy. "He writes stuff, and I read it. It's not that hard."

"We understand what's going on, Brendon," Spencer cuts in, smirking. Ryan looks equally pleased. "You have a crush on him."

And that's just preposterous, isn't it? He can like someone without it being romantic. "No," he immediately denies. "He's just a good friend."

Even Jon doesn't look completely convinced, and he was supposed to be on his side! "You looked really happy when you talked about him," he points out.

Brendon groans. "You guys are insane."

"Nah, we're just right, and you're in denial," Ryan smirks. "Why don't you go eat with lover boy, hm?"

"Fine," Brendon grits out, and it's not because he likes Patrick that way. They're just pissing him off, really. He grabs his lunch tray and walks over to where Patrick is sitting, near the corner of the room.

He sits down next to Patrick with a sigh. "Hey, Patrick."

"Hi," Patrick mouths. He's started doing this alongside writing, because paper isn't always around. Brendon's actually good at reading lips, which was a skill he didn't know he had until around then. He ignores the fact that he looks at Patrick's lips often, even when he's not mouthing something.

"How are you?" Brendon asks, really interested.

"Great," he mouths. "I slept well last night."

"That's good," Brendon says, smiling. He had slept well last night too, probably just due to Patrick's comforting presence. There was just something about him that generally made him feel better. "My friend's were being shitheads, so that's why I came over."

Patrick grins at him. "How rude," he mouths.

"No, you would agree if you met them!" Brendon exclaims, and then pauses. "Would you ever want to meet them?"

Patrick shrugs, indicating a clear maybe. It would probably be different if he hung out with all of them, because he's not sure how accommodating they would be. Brendon fears they would try to force him to talk or something, and end up coming across as disrespectful.

The worst part is that he doesn't know if he would stop them or not. Though he tries not to be, he is still curious when it comes to the matter of Patrick's voice. He knows he wants to hear it again. It had sounded so beautiful, and he doesn't know why Patrick doesn't use it often. As a Siren, his voice is practically the most important part of him. Not that Brendon personally believes that. There's more to him than just his voice.

"Maybe if they get used to the idea," Brendon suggests. "They know we're friends now, anyway."

And like he said, Patrick's not ashamed. He's not mad at him for telling them. He just smiles at him, and Brendon smiles back.

\---

Curiosity kills the cat. He knows it's probably sensitive information, or just private, but there are still questions he has without answers. He tells Patrick he wants to ask him some things, and he just nods.

"Why don't you use your voice?" he asks quietly. "It sounded so pretty." He watches him write his answer.

_Because I can't control it. I can barely talk without it manipulating people. That's what Sirens do, and I hate it._

"Isn't that what you're here at the academy for? To control it better?"

_I'm too afraid to really try. Don't you remember what it did to you?_

He does. He remembers how he just felt obligated to listen to him, how it was basically like mind control. It was just so convincing. "But I trust you," Brendon says. "Even if something happens, I trust that you'll fix it, and that you didn't mean it."

Patrick smiles weakly. _You're too nice. Really._

"You can practice with me," he suggests. "I'm assuming it's hard to do it, but I'll help if I can." He wants to say something else, but doesn't know what.

Patrick is motionless for a moment, and drops the pencil. "Okay," he says, and he can tell how nervous he sounds. He can tell Patrick's scared that he'll accidentally use his power against him, but he trusts him.

Brendon realizes what he wanted to say. He realizes the universal truth, what has always been there but he has ignored.

His friends were right. He's crushing on Patrick. He wants to tell him he loves him, but he can't. He can't risk it with how well their friendship is going.

"Good, that's progress," Brendon tells him. "It's small, but maybe one day we'll get you comfortable with speaking."

Patrick suddenly brings him in for a hug, wrapping his arms around Brendon's shoulders. It surprises Brendon, but not in a bad way. He smiles to himself and hugs him back. "Thank you," Patrick says, his breath hitting his neck.

Now would be a good moment to say it, but he doesn't. "No problem, Patrick. You mean a lot to me," he says instead.

Over time, Patrick works up to speaking more and more. He feels more confident in it, as well. There, of course, were a few mishaps, but those were bound to happen.

He's done so well that Brendon decides he should officially meet his friends. He already gave them a pep talk to be nice to him, and to not be too nosey. They could laugh at him all they want about his obvious crush, he just didn't care anymore. He wants the best for Patrick.

Patrick sits with them during breakfast, and it's going well at first. He listens to them bantering, adds into the conversations a little. It starts to go sour when Jon starts to ask him questions, because he doesn't know what's too far. He doesn't really know that Patrick's a private guy.

Brendon's not paying enough attention. He hears Jon get halfway through a question, when Patrick speaks up. "Stop talking," he says, and Brendon recognizes that tone of voice. It's what he calls the "Siren Voice", the one that's so alluring that it's impossible to not listen to, the manipulative one.

Brendon looks over. Jon goes pale and abruptly closes his mouth. Patrick stares at him in horror, realizing what he's done. It's an accident, but that doesn't change that it happened. "Fuck!" he exclaims, standing up. "I'm sorry, you can speak. Keep talking."

Jon lets out a deep breath, and before he can say anything, Patrick's already gone. Jon looks at Brendon with wide eyes. "What was that?"

Brendon bites his lip. "You already know, don't you?"

Jon begins explaining what happened to Ryan and Spencer, who didn't understand what happened. Once he explains, they know the truth. They know Patrick's a Siren, despite the fact that it's somewhat different than what you learn from mythology.

Brendon stands up and hurriedly goes to chase after him, knowing that he probably felt awful. He runs into Patrick's room, where he sees Patrick pacing. "Are you okay?"

"No!" Patrick exclaims. Brendon's stunned to hear the crack in his voice and his teary eyes. "I thought I could be normal, Brendon, I really did. I didn't mean to do that..."

"I know you didn't," Brendon rushes to say. "I know it's like an instinct, that you can't really stop it."

"But I want to," Patrick sobs. "I want to talk without hurting people, but I can't even do that."

"It's okay, you'll get there eventually," Brendon says, trying to calm him down. He steps closer to the crying teen.

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" Patrick questions sadly. Brendon only knows how to answer that in one way. He leans forward, places his arms around his shoulders, and kisses him.

It feels weird, mainly because Patrick's lips are wet from his tears. He tries to put as much emotion into it as he can, so Patrick will understand. He has faith in him because he loves him, because he will always think good about him.

Patrick pulls away, wiping his tears with his hand. Brendon feels anxious, thinking he made a mistake. "I'm sorry," he says quickly. "Like, I know you probably don't feel that way, but I just felt like--"

He was cut off by Patrick kissing him. He smiles, placing a hand on his cheek. When they pull away again, Patrick laughs at him. "You didn't even give me a chance to say anything."

"Sorry, I panicked."

"I noticed."

The kiss obviously doesn't solve Patrick's issues. Romance doesn't do anything like that, but romance can help someone be comforted. Love itself can't solve many issues, but it can lead to support, and that's all Patrick needs.

"You'll get there, okay?" Brendon says calmly, pushing their foreheads together.

"I believe you," Patrick says, and kisses him again.

Romance doesn't fix issues, but it can make you feel happier.

\---

A year later, both of them are graduating from the academy. Well, everyone in the friend group is, actually. Once Patrick got accustomed to speaking without any problem, he became good friends with Spencer, Jon, and Ryan. They were shocked by how quickly they started to like him.

Brendon still remembers the way that they teased them once they started going out. He still remembers how wide Patrick's smiles were, and how fondly he listened to them tell stories about how infatuated Brendon was.

Patrick squeezes his hand and looks over to him. "Feeling nostalgic?"

"It's hard not to," Brendon tells him. "This place is practically our home."

"A temporary one," Patrick corrects him. And Brendon is still blown away that they are going to have a future together. Their meeting was so coincidental, and yet it has led him to so much happiness.

He smiles when he remembers the surprise he's planned for him. After the graduation, they all go hang by the front of the academy. Brendon makes Patrick close his eyes, and Spencer keeps an eye on him to make sure he is.

"What's going on?" Patrick asks.

"A reunion," Brendon replies. "I know you've wanted to see him again." He brings the mystery guy up to stand in front of Patrick. "You can open your eyes now."

So he does, and immediately beams. Standing in front of Patrick is his old roommate, Pete. Brendon contacted him a while back, planning for this surprise. "Pete!" Patrick cheers, pulling him in for a hug.

Pete chuckles and hugs him back. "Nice to know your vocal cords actually work," he jokes, not mad about it. Brendon had filled him in about him being a Siren, and explained why he hid it and everything.

Patrick pulls away and winces. "Yeah... Sorry about that."

"It's all good," Pete replies, smiling. "Now's a time to catch up before you and lover boy start your future."

"Why does everyone call me that?" Brendon whispers in disbelief.

From beside him, Ryan snorts. "Because you're so in love with him."

Brendon watches him and Pete fondly as they converse. "You're right."

It may have been Patrick's voice that captured his interest at first, but now it was all him. The way he speaks may be interesting, but his voice isn't the only thing that defines him. Patrick is a funny, sweet guy who can hold the world in his hands but decides not to. He is beautiful in every way, and he knows that because he knows him.

He goes into his pocket and feels the small black box, smiling to himself. He remembers the ring he picked out, and can't wait for their future together.


End file.
